Is Queen Elizabeth II in Good Health?

Queen Elizabeth II has been England’s monarch for more than six decades so it’s hard to imagine a time when she will no longer be on the throne. However, the public is well aware that Her Majesty is in her ’90s and that is why there’s always chatter and concerns over her health especially when she unexpectedly misses a royal event or outing.

We know she has scaled back on public outings and some royal duties in recent years but in November 2018, when she was missing from a photo many expected to see her in, rumors about her health made headlines again.

Here’s more on why she wasn’t in that important photo, plus what we know about the state of Queen Elizabeth II’s health and what the palace believes she will die from.

How healthy is Queen Elizabeth II?

At the end of 2016, concerns over the queen’s health were high when it was reported that she had a “heavy cold” and missed several traditional holiday events. Since then though, Queen Elizabeth II reportedly has had a clean bill of health.

Something to note is that she never smoked although several members of her family did. “Both her father and her sister smoked, but it never attracted her. It was something that just didn’t appeal,” her former press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, told the BBC.

Many of her relatives died from smoking-related illnesses which could be one of the reasons the queen never picked up the habit.

Her Majesty does drink, however, not heavily as previously reported and she can thank her mother, who lived to be 101, for good genes.

“If you have parents and grandparents who made it into their eighties and nineties there is a chance you have inherited good genes.,” said Professor Sarah Harper from the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing. “You are more likely to have a strong immune system and are less likely to develop chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular problems.”

How the palace thinks she will die

The Guardian noted that plans for her death have already clearly been laid out and Buckingham Palace officials envision her to die in her bed, surrounded by her loved ones, after suffering from a short illness. They also hope in her final hours that she will be able to say goodbye to those dear to her.

When the queen’s mom passed away in 2002, at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, she had time to call her friends a final time and even spoke about which of them she was giving away some of her horses to.

Why Queen Elizabeth wasn’t in the photo

The palace released precious family portraits just ahead of Prince Charles 70th birthday. In addition to the Prince of Wales, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Camilla Parker Bowles were all featured smiling in the photo. However, Queen Elizabeth was missing from the family picture leaving many to speculate about why.